Resident chases down tree rustler

Blue spruce was cut down in yard in broad daylight.

Blue spruce was cut down in yard in broad daylight.

December 19, 2006

CARO, Mich. (AP) -- Police don't normally recommend that crime victims take matters into their own hands. There's one, however, that Tuscola County Undersheriff James Jashinske found hard to fault. The 55-year-old Wells Township resident watched his 8-foot blue spruce being cut down Dec. 1 and taken away in broad daylight. He pursued and caught up to the suspect, then fought with him, snatched the tree, drove home -- with the thief's keys -- and called police. "This guy's got guts," Jashinske said of the tree retriever. "If I had a nice blue spruce in my yard and some idiot came up and hacked her down, I'd be a little upset, too." Neither man was named in a story published by The Bay City Times. But Rick Doerr of Doerr Landscaping & Nursery of Cass City said he spoke with the victim after the Dec. 1 incident. The suspect told the victim he wanted the blue spruce as a Christmas tree; a replacement would cost about $600 to buy and replant, Doerr said. "The victim said his daughter had planted this particular tree when she was very young, so there was sentimental value to him along with the tree's real value," Jashinske said. The victim confronted the suspect, a 30-year-old from Decker, and they "swung at each other," the undersheriff said. A passer-by called 911 to report the fight, but when Deputy Mike Mattlin and a sergeant named Michael Pine arrived, all they found was the suspect's truck. Authorities issued a warrant for the suspected tree rustler's arrest.